Warren wrote:

But spring does *not* come in January in Portland. Not even February!

Hon, I grew up in the snowbelt of Upstate New York, where you grab the
first signs of hope pushing their way through the snow. This is spring,
trust me. There are many flavors of spring here, and it goes for months
and months, with new things unfolding all the time.

Don't worry, I'm not thinking of going out and planting peas yet.

Kathryn Burlingham writes:

Don't worry, I'm not thinking of going out and planting peas yet.

is your mother?

Ann Burlingham wrote:
Kathryn Burlingham writes:

Don't worry, I'm not thinking of going out and planting peas yet.

is your mother?

Not yet. She does have some sort of cabbage about half grown out there,
and the chard is coming along fine. The rosemary has decided to bloom a
bit too. It's raining now! That's the best sort of day, some sunny blue,
some gentle rain.

Kathryn Burlingham wrote:
Hon, I grew up in the snowbelt of Upstate New York, where you grab the
first signs of hope pushing their way through the snow. This is
spring, trust me. There are many flavors of spring here, and it goes
for months and months, with new things unfolding all the time.

Tell me again how it's spring in a couple of weeks when they shut-down
the city because it's encased in ice.

I come from Wisconsin, where winter meant that we were under snow from
Thanksgiving to Easter. But that was nothing compared to the ice storms
we can (and do) get in Portland.

Thirty-five years in the snow belt, including almost a decade driving a
snowplow, so I was the guy who got up before the roads were cleared. I
never used chains. I never knew anyone who even owned chains. Never had
a need. Now that I'm in this place that has "spring" in January, I need
to have chains in my car, and there are times that I definitely need to
use them.

Don't let the lack of snow or sub-zero temperatures fool you. Winter can
be quite wicked here. The frost damage I had last year was quite
extensive. There are times that I miss something as tame as ten inches
of snow.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
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Warren wrote:

Don't let the lack of snow or sub-zero temperatures fool you. Winter can
be quite wicked here. The frost damage I had last year was quite
extensive. There are times that I miss something as tame as ten inches
of snow.

Last year's ice storm was *extremely* atypical. Yes, there will be more
cold and wet and freezing to come, but there's also a lot of growin'
going on. If I want to call this spring, how does that hurt? I'm not
saying the fruit trees ought to be blooming now. Is it not really spring
in April in Upstate New York because they can get snowstorms in May?
Spring doesn't necessarily mean safe!

I've been in Portland for 15 years, to me, spring starts in February.
It's a little early this year, is all.

"Kathryn Burlingham" wrote in message
...
Warren wrote:

But spring does *not* come in January in Portland. Not even February!

Hon, I grew up in the snowbelt of Upstate New York, where you grab the
first signs of hope pushing their way through the snow. This is spring,
trust me. There are many flavors of spring here, and it goes for months
and months, with new things unfolding all the time.

Don't worry, I'm not thinking of going out and planting peas yet.

It is indeed the beginning of Spring in the Pacific Northwest, as far as I'm
concerned. My primroses have been blooming for a week. My callalilies
began blooming last week and my crocuses and daffodils are up, although not
in bloom, yet. I expect them to be blooming soon. Oh, and my daisies are
blooming wildly. Yeah!

Marg